Trying to balance it all

Wow, life has been quite the balancing act lately. Since starting my photography business a little over a year ago, I have become so insanely busy. I'm trying so hard to stay afloat but I'm not gonna lie.. it's been nuts. Luckily I have an amazing husband that helps me with editing and my website and building backdrops and watching the kids while I shoot... and... I could go on and on. He's been amazing through this whole experience and has been so selfless. One thing that I've had a really hard time adjusting to are the late nights of editing. I try to go to bed by midnight (because my kids never sleep later than 6:30am... bleh) but some nights it's closer to 1 or 2am and the next day I am really just dragging. 4-5 hours of sleep just aren't enough, especially when it's day in and day out. Plus, I really feel like Dane and I going to bed at different times is just sad. So I am trying to enlist my project manager husband to help me schedule my time better and I may even charge more for my photo shoots soon. I haven't wanted to because I don't want to be to pricey, but at the same time I am completely booked out for the next month and a half so I feel it wouldn't be a bad idea.
Another thing I have been trying to balance is buying a house. We are in escrow right now and are planning to move into our very first house in about 3 weeks. All this packing and cleaning with 2 little tykes running around feels pretty ineffective. I pack up a box and leave it there for five minutes (to find the packing tape, which they hid) and when I come back 1/2 of the box is unpacked. Goodness, having kids is fun.
We are also super involved in church- Dane is the YM varsity coach (he works with all the 14-15 year old boys) and I am the 1st counselor in the Relief Society. We have meetings at my house every other week for R.S. and lots of responsibilities and Dane goes on overnight campouts once a month and has the boys over to our house most Wednesday nights.
And did I mention we have 2 little kids that are full of energy? I want to cherish my time with them and so I don't edit or do photo shoots during the day (unless Dane is home) and I'm doing my best to be a good mom and teach them and love them and give them all the snuggles that I can. Luckily I have tons of pictures of them and someday hopefully I will have some time to edit them. Haha, someday? Does it ever get easier?

Planning

I have a major problem that is really affecting my life lately: I am a terrible planner. I love to make endless lists of all the things I want to get done, but I have no game plan of how I'm going to do it. By the end of the day I feel so disappointed with myself because I feel like I have a million things to do and I could do them, yet I just can't fit it all in. But I also have time to mosey around the house, check facebook a million times, pick my nose and chat on the phone. Don't get me wrong here, I am taking care of a 4 year old and 18 month old, I am 1st counselor in my Relief Society, we are trying to buy a house, I have my own photography business that's taking off, I am trying to get Jet ready for Kindergarten (and to find a good school... preferably a charter school here in the area), I'm trying to be a devoted wife and to be spiritually sound, I have bills to pay and a house to clean and groceries to purchase and food to make and laundry to do. I have animals to take care of (2 dogs, a cat and a fish) and I workout everyday. You would THINK that I am a really good planner since I would have to be with this crazy schedule but the truth is, I really have no idea what the heck I am doing. I seriously go through my day like a chicken with it's head cut off. It was working okay for a while but then I started snapping at my kids and snapping even more at Dane. I'd blame him for every little problem that came my way because to be completely honest, I didn't even have time to think about anything sensible! I was just going full speed in every direction. I sorta hit rock bottom tonight and the tears came a-flowin. Nobody can live like I was for very long.
Dane is SO amazing. As I was sitting in front of him like a lunatic, crying my eyeballs out and making no sense except that I was too busy, he helped me realize that my life is so crazy because I'm doing everything on a whim. I don't plan things out at all. The kids eat whenever, I eat whenever, I edit photos whenever, I clean whenever, etc etc. My life would have so much more purpose and fulfillment if I actually planned out my day. It's quite ironic and amazing that although I am such a terrible planner, I am actually married to someone who is a PROJECT MANAGER. haha, he does this stuff day in and day out. He is such a pro, and he knows that things don't work when you don't have a good plan. He also offered to make dinner 3 nights a week and to help me edit and clean. What the heck. I am mean to him and he repays me with love. Wow.
So... starting tomorrow I have my phone alarm set for 7:30am and at that time I am planning out my day. No ifs, ands or butts. Wish me luck.

Bad mother, great kids

Some people might think that I am a bad mom, but I don't care. For example:
-Both my kids end up in bed with us every night and I don't put them back into their beds. I let them snug to their heart's content. I've heard a million times that it might make them clingy and that they'll just have a harder time staying in their own beds in the future. But I want as many snugs as I can get so I'm keeping them with us. It makes me feel SOO happy.
-I still nurse June if she wakes up at night... yep she is 17 months old on Friday. Everyone probably thinks I'm a weirdo and I've thought about stopping because I don't want to tell people that I still nurse June. It's so lame that I would care. June loves it, as do I.
-I take my kids on road trips ALL THE TIME. I'm talking at least once a month, but usually more. Utah, Northern Cali, San Diego,etc. Most people would probably think that's hard on the kids but I don't want to be without them. They'd rather be with Dane & I on our adventures than with a babysitter. I'm just hoping that they'll be able to go to places like Haiti and Uganda sooner than later. It would be SOOOO good for them.
-I spend more time playing with my kids than I do cleaning. My house might have more germs, but I hear that it just strengthens their immune systems anyway. They won't remember a clean house but they will remember how good they felt when we had tickle wars and puppet shows and a gazillion art projects.
-We don't have tons of money because I am a stay at home mom. They can't have the fanciest toys or the nicest clothes but they have my full, undivided attention 24/7. I hope that's worth something. :)

Utah

I'm such a loser and my blog can prove it. I always post that I'm BACK and how it's going to be so great and then poof, I am gone. It's so funny because as I go throughout my day I think about all the things I'm gonna blog about, yet they never actually show up.
Anyway, I just took a trip to Utah. I drove alone with the two kids. Yep, just me and the kiddos... 4 year old Jet and 1 year old June. It was a freaking ton of work but it was super fun. I had to cram in SOO much while I was there and only got a fraction in. Utah still feels like home to me. I really grew up there because as soon an I graduated high school (at age 17) I moved out to Orem and then went to college there, met my husband Dane there, got pregnant there, and had my first baby there. I lived there over 7 years! That's almost 1/4 of my life! OKay, back to my trip.
So I drove out there which took about 10 hours and I decided to do it in one big chunk. I just wanted to get it over with. While I was there I got to stay with my amazingly awesome cousin Kat and her husband Travis. She is super cute with a shaved head (to support her mom who is going through chemo for breast cancer). She took me all over the place, including a store I had never been to called Hobby Lobby. Okay, that place is seriously a little piece of heaven. And that place could honestly get me in so much trouble if I lived there. They have EVERYTHING and a gazillion sales. No fair. We also went to Thanksgiving Point and we walked through the little stores. More adorable stuff. So DANG cute but pretty expensive. Once again, no fair. Let's see, we also went to IKEA where I found some great photo props (of course IKEA came to Utah the month we moved away). Jet LOVED the play room and all the kids in Utah. Ya, kids are everywhere there and pretty scarce around here. Poor boy. We also went to the Orem mall which was pretty much the same but outside of the mall they have this huge new movie theater and a pirate restaurant that Jet went nuts over. He thought that all the waiters there were real pirates and asked if they could turn him into one. :)
While we were there I HAD to go antique shopping and go to this darling little store called Trendy Tots. I had never been there but I knew they had adorable baby stuff which would rock in the baby photog department. So I went there and holy sheesh, I seriously was sooooo inspired. I wanna decorate June's room like that. For those of you that live in Utah and have kids and money, (or like to dream, like me) then you HAVE TO go visit. They have the CUTEST little handmade headbands, clothes, toys, decor, you name it. I found a couple little treasures but had to be careful. I wanna keep my husband. :) As far as antique shopping goes, I got to visit my aunt's consignment shop called, "Mona Lisa" and also down the street from her we found an antique sale taking place in someones yard. And there it was. The trunk I was looking for. Only $40!!! That is unheard of! You'll see it in my poppy tree photos shortly.
I also got to stay with my older brother Ryan whom I love and adore. He works at the SLC library and was soooo cute. He checked out like 20 books and 15 DVDs for Jet. He let us stay the night at his place and even babysat Jet the next day so that I could go to a bridal shower. They had tons of fun... making projects, going out to pizza, watching a movie & playing together. I'm sad that my kids don't get to see him more often. Jet was super excited to see Ryan. He freaked out when he saw him and screamed, "Ryan!" and ran up the stairs to hug him. Ryan was so nice and took us on a tour of the library and both my kids loved the children's area. It's so great for kids. If I lived there I would seriously take them everyday. Bah.
I also got to stay with my super pregnant, super cute, super fun friend Ali. She has 2 kids already and Jet knows them really well because we went to Hawaii together a few months ago. They had a BLAST to put it lightly. We took them to Boondocks (an arcade/jungle gym/mini golf etc place), an awesome fabric store (okay, maybe I had more fun there), a kids consignment store called Kid to Kid, McDonalds, and let them play together for hours in the backyard at Ali's house. They have a trampoline, a playhouse, and huge lawn, bikes, and tons of great stuff for kids. My little stinkers were so happy. Ali was such a good sport taking us all over the place, considering she is 34 weeks along and has gestational diabetes. She is SOOO dang tough, that woman.
Oh ya, I forgot to mention this amazing fabric store that my cousin Kat took me to in South Jordan. It's called Material Girls. They had loads of Amy Butler fabric and tons of other amazing stuff, including patterns. Someday if I have time to sew again, I'm going to make some stuff because I bought a couple patterns. I like to think that I have more time than I do.
I feel like this has been an advertisement for stores. Haha, oh well. I really wanna talk about my trip home because it was honestly insane but I'm gonna save it for another day. My fingers are tired. :) Good night!

Growing

Why do my babies keep growing so dang fast? I am seriously turning into an emotional wreck because my kids are SO awesome and they are happy and love life and are perfect to me. And they just keep growing which means they are going to leave. Maybe there is something wrong with me but I think about this A LOT. I seriously cry about this at least once a week while I am rocking June to sleep and stroking her little forehead or when Jet brings me a bouquet of dandelions he found in the backyard. Their presence in our home has completely changed the atmosphere because they are such sweet little spirits. And now that June and Jet are interacting more, it's one of the most beautiful things EVER to watch them laugh and play together. Gosh, Jet is so awesome. He doesn't care if he looks like a complete dork. He wears a costume any chance he can get... today it was a Batman mask and cape, and last week it was a giraffe. He'll go out like that and sing at the top of his lungs as we go up and down the isles in the grocery store. He says hi to everyone we see and then usually asks them a question about why they are doing what they are doing. He cares so much about other people. I LOVE my Jetty Jet.
And June is seriously the sweetest little treat that the Lord has ever made. I don't know how to handle it sometimes. She is so delicate and dainty and yet she is so fun. She has the cutest little laugh and smile and LOVES her big brother. She also LOOOOOVES her daddy and the superman rides he gives her. She loves them so much that when Dane gives rides to Jet, she screams bloody murder until it is her turn again. I really want someone to take good care of her someday. It's so crazy to imagine that when she gets married she will belong to someone else and that I will have to trust them to take care of my little girl. What the. I have no idea how I am going to be able to do that. Sheesh.
Dane just gave me a hug and said, "Well, we are so lucky to have them. Let's enjoy every minute. And when we're with them, let's give them our full attention." I married such an awesome man. I am SO grateful that when my sweet little angels are grown and gone, my darling dear will be by my side.

Jet's shoes

About a week ago I bought Jet some new shoes. I was REALLY hesitant about buying them because 1) they are really ugly 2) I don't like giving into the whole "commercial" thing 3) I totally gave in and let Jet get something that I didn't want him to have. Now I am feeling a little guilty about it and I wish I could take them back, but Jet has already worn them in with paint splatters and mud. I guess we'll just have to keep them. But next time I buy him some shoes, they are going to be from a no-name corner store in China town.

Keeping it real with Kim

I think I'm ready to get back into blogging. I feel like I always have an excuse to NOT blog but to be honest I think I should just do it. As I go throughout my day I always think to myself, "Hey, I should blog about this!" But then I don't. It's sort of messing with my mind because I'll think that I DID blog about it (because I wanted to) but then I don't. Enough about that.
So the photography stuff is really taking off. Almost too quickly. I'm having some trouble keeping up with it, mostly due to the high demands of caring for two young children, trying to be a lovely wife and just a sane person in general. But since I am married to a project manager, he is going to help me come up with a solid game plan to help this run a lot smoother and to see what I can and can't do. Taking the pictures is the easy part. It really doesn't take much time at all. And shopping for props? Well that's no problem at all. I could shop antique stores all day (if Dane would let me and we had unlimited funds). But editing takes FOREVER. Seriously it takes so freaking long. I would say about 30 minutes per picture, and a photoshoot of one child is usually about 20 pictures. So 20x30=600/60=10. I'm spending about 10 hours on editing alone. And let me just say that most photo shoots AREN'T just one child. They are usually 2 or 3. And I add in about 10 pictures per each additional child. Right now I bumped up my price to $100 (because hello, at $50 I was making about $4 an hour). So now I'm closer to minimum wage. Haha, I don't think people realize how much of a freaking good deal they are getting on me. And I give them a disc too.
I hope someday soon I can charge more because at this rate I will have a hard time keeping it real.

Where is Kim?

Whew! I have been craAazy busy this last month getting things underway with my new photography business and also trying to balance being a good mother and wife and friend. It's been a little bit of a challenge because I refuse to let my family get pushed aside while I'm getting this all started. Luckliy, I have a WONDERFUL husband who is insane and does SO MUCH for me. It's crazy. He seriously has the biggest heart and helps me feel so balanced. He also helps with the kids whenever I have a shoot or need to edit or anything. He also "fixed" the blogsite I've been working on. I'm so dumb with computers and tried to make a blog... Dane had to completely erase everything I'd done and start over and finished what I'd been working on for days in like 2 hours. Haha. I'm so glad I have him.
So anyway, my new blog is just about ready for all y'all to check out and I can't wait! I have lots and lots of photoshoots to post on there. Word of mouth has been the best advertisement! And my business cards are just about ready as well. It's all coming together, it's crazy. When I decide I want to do something, there is no stopping me. :)

Meditation

I remember when I was about 15 or so, I gave a talk in church about this importance of prayer and meditation. I gained a solid testimony of the power of meditation and just sitting in silence, breathing, praying and contemplating. It is so crucial and important for our well-being. Well, my life for the last few years has been pretty hectic having 2 kids and a million cajillion distraction. But one of the best BEST things about those babies is that they have FORCED me to relax and meditate. And it is simply beautiful. When I nurse June which is about every 4-5 hours, I am forced to just sit still and be quiet and hold my sweet baby. When Jet goes down for his nap and for bed, he begs me to lay with him for a few minutes after we have read a book and said our prayers. We just lay together in silence and hold each other, and I say a silent prayer and think about my life. And when June goes down for her naps, she is a total snuggler so I just hold her and close my eyes and breathe. These times together don't last very long, maybe 10-15 minutes. But I feel that they are helping me SOOOO much and forcing me to slow down and listen to the spirit. This world is so crazy and hectic. It seems like things just keep moving faster and faster and it's hard to keep up. I know that in order to keep my sanity and listen to what Heavenly Father wants me to hear, I have to make time to slow down. It seems funny but it totally makes sense. So if you haven't done it today, please go lay down with your baby or spouse or even alone, and just breathe and listen. I promise you will feel so much better about the day.

Blonde

So while Kathryn was here we went out and got all the stuff to tranform her into a blonde goddess. Then I watched her transformation. And I couldn't help myself. Sooo... here we are, being total nerds in our matching outfits and blonde hair. There are a TON of pictures so maybe I'll post more later if I am feeling brave.

Disneyland with the Cooks!

My cousin Kathryn and her husband Travis came to visit us last week from Utah and we had a BLAST! If you know them, then you know they are a TON of fun to hang out with! I will post a series of pictures from our week together because there are a ton of them. Here are some pictures from our trip to Disneyland.

The classic castle picture. We had to take like 10 pictures to get Jet to cooperate. :)



Okay, my kids freaking LOVE It's a Small World. June was honestly freaking out. It was awesome.



Yes, and I like it too.



Travis is mad.



Look at how cute these two are. Sheesh, I love them.



June fell asleep in her stroller and Kat and I were admiring the cute little legs hanging out.



Travis was so cute hanging out with Jet. :)



June got smothered by Kat all week but luckily she is totally used to it. I do not hold back ever. I mean seriously, look at that face.



Jet kicked my butt at the Buzz Lightyear ride/game. Maybe it was because I was too busy taking pictures and not shooting my lazer gun. I totally could have won though. Watch out Jet, because next time I'm gonna destroy your high score.



June was not into this ride, but Dane totally was. hahaha


Yes, they are cute.



I love this picture.



Junie and I were waiting for everyone to ride Star Tours without us. Whatever. I got to hang out with this cute face. And yes, she got smothered with kisses.

New Photography Blog!

I'm happy to announce that I have a new photography blog! Please be loving with your comments because I am still a beginner and feel extremely insecure. But I am totally loving this and can't get enough of it! And Dane is sooooooooooooooo happy that I have found something that I love to do. He has supported me 1000% and if I didn't have his support then this wouldn't have gotten off the ground.
So please feel free to stop by my blog every now and then and check it out. And if you are interested in having your kids pictures taken and are in so cal, please call me!
So here is the new blog:
www.poppytreephoto.blogspot.com
And just so so you know, Jet came up with the name Poppy Tree. I was going crazy trying to come up with a name (besides just using my own name) and I was driving around in Gilroy with my mom and the kids. As we were in a parking lot we drove by a bunch of blossoming trees and Jet said, "Look Mom! Poppy Trees!" What he was referring to is the little song "Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Trees" which is a cute little song about blossoming trees that look like they have popcorn on them. Anyway, I fell in love with it and the name stuck. So Poppy Tree Photography it is. :)

First "official" newborn photo shoot

So today I did my first "official" newborn photo shoot. Wow, I learned so much in one night. Here is what I learned about photographing newborns:
1. Plan for lots of time. LOTS.
2. They cannot be older than a week. Two tops. This cute little guy was a month old and would not sleep!
3. The room should be really really really warm and the lights should be fairly dim. I thought the room was really warm but he was shivering the whole time! Poor guy. And he also just wanted to stare at the lights on the ceiling the whole time which probably kept him awake.
4. Friends and family are gonna want to watch, so be prepared with room for them or a place to sit. It's kinda like a little show.
5. When a newborn is laying over the side of a bucket/bowl/pot/etc. make sure that the area they are resting their little noggin on is soft and cushy. Otherwise, they look terribly uncomfortable.
6. The baby has to be sleeping. Period. I tried so hard to get some good shots of this little guy when he was awake and I think I got one. Maybe two.
So tomorrow morning they are gonna come back because that's when he's the most sleepy. I hope he behaves himself. :)
Okay, time to edit. Wish me luck!!!

busy busy busy!

Wow, I have been so busy with everything sometimes I feel like my head is going to explode! I have so so so much that I want and need to do, yet it all is pushed back. But the truth is that the reason it is pushed back is because of my kids and I wouldn't have it any other way. Sometimes I think I spend TOO much time with them. Haha, I hope they don't get sick of me. I guess I'm realizing more and more that they grow up way too stinken fast and if I spend all of my time doing MY stuff, they'll get pushed aside. And then they'll be grown and going off to college and I'll wonder what in the heck I was doing with my time. So my house isn't going to be perfectly clean. It's going to take me a long time to finish projects. I'm not going to be in the best shape ever. I'm not going to look perfectly polished 24/7. But my little family is going to be happy.
Just for fun, I thought that I would write out what my typical day is like. That way when I'm 75 years old and Dane and I are sitting around reading our old journals (and blog entries for that matter) we can say to ourselves, "Wow, we were pretty busy way back then!"
So here it goes:
6am: June wakes up. I nurse her and snug her in bed with Dane... trying to sleep but knowing that I'm only kidding myself. June talks to me until I finally give her attention and wake up comletely.
6:30am: Jet comes and jumps in bed with all of us, and we turn on a show for him. It's usually Sesame Street, Super Why, or Diego.
7am: We have morning family prayer, Dane leaves for work, and the kids and I go downstairs for breakfast. I get Jet settled with dry cereal (no milk... silly kid) or oatmeal. Then I make June some baby food and feed her.
7:30am: I usually turn on Jet's shows while we are all hanging out and still waking up. If it's a preschool day, then I make Jet's lunch and get myself and the kids ready. Otherwise, we all just chill in our pj's for a while.
8:15am: (preschool day) I get both kids into the car and head to school. Jet and I always sing primary songs on the way and say a prayer.
8am: (non-preschool day) I make a list of all the things I want to do for the day (maybe a little ocd but I've been doing this FOREVER. When I was younger I used to write out what I was going to wear EVERY day). It makes me feel good to check things off too. So my list usually consists of cleaning, laundry, cooking, exercising, activities with Jet, appointments, important phone calls, errands to run, showering (yes... that feels like a chore these days with 2 kids), projects to work on, etc. So for the next few hours I work on this junk and check it off.
Jet also has a chore chart (although it is very inconsistant) but whenever he wants a certain toy or something, the chore chart comes out and he has to work on it. Which means I help him. Okay, actually, I do the chores. And it's really hard because he usually just makes things messier. But he's learning the value of hard work, right?
9:30am: June goes down for nap #1. I take her in her room and rock her to sleep to a mix cd I made(mostly Amelie songs and instrumental stuff that I like). While I'm putting her to sleep, Jet usually plays with the dogs or his toys. He's really good about that... and he knows that when Mommy is putting Junie to bed that he has to be really quiet.
After I come back downstairs, Jet and I usually take a break from chores and do an activity like bake cookies, play with playdough, play in the sandbox in the backyard, chase the dogs around the house, etc. Then he likes to have "alone" time to play with his toys. I don't always know how to do it right so he has to play alone. Haha, silly boy.
While he's playing, I go back and forth from working on chores to checking facebook, email, looking at photography stuff online, etc.
11:30am (approx): Junie wakes up and I nurse her. Then I feed her some baby food and play with her for alittle bit. I make Jet and I lunch and we eat together.
12:15pm (preschool day): I put Junie in the car and we head to Jet's school to pick him up.
1pm: The 3 of us arrive at home and I strip Jet down and give him a bath. After preschool he is always filthy. June is now big enough that I can give her a bath with Jet sometimes, so she dives in the and the two of them go to town with a splashing war. I now know that I can't wear "nice" clothes during this process because I am always soaked afterwards.
1:30pm: I get the kids dressed in cozy clothes and we all have a snack. It's usually fruit, popcorn, crackers, or toast.
2pm: I take June upstairs for nap #2.
2:15pm: Jet and I go upstairs and get ready for his nap. I put a diaper on him (he's now potty trained except for sleeping), then we read a book or two. After that, we say prayers and sing a few songs. It's usually a primary song or a song I make up about spiderman/sharks/tigers/spiders/batman/dinosaurs. Then it's kisses, hugs and I love you's.
2:45pm: I plan out/make dinner then work on chores until June wakes up.
4pm: June wakes up and I nurse her. Then we have mommy-daughter time and play. She watches me finish cooking dinner, then I feed her baby food.
6pm: I give June a bath (unless she had one earlier with Jet. Then I get her ready for bed.
6:15pm: Dane comes home and says goodnight to June, and I rock her to sleep.
6:30pm: Jet wakes up and the 3 of us eat dinner together. Then (depending on the day) we all hang out together and play. Sometimes Dane has homework or class so on those days, Jet and I hang out together. I think Jet really likes this time because there is no Junie stealing his spotlight.
8:15pm We start getting Jet ready for bed. It's basically the same thing as the nap routine except we put on his pj's, brush his teeth, and then Dane reads to him. This takes a little while but is extremely effective because we do the same exact thing every night and Jet knows what to expect. He goes to sleep really easily because of it. This time is also really special because Dane and Jet get alone time (well, sometimes I join in or do it when Dane has class) but it's so so great. I love hearing the two of them laughing and being silly up in Jet's room. while they're doing that, I usually get myself ready for bed because I take longer than Dane.
8:30-9pm: Jet goes to sleep and Dane and I hang out. We read scriptures, then usually watch one of our favorite shows (The Office, Lost, American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance).
10:30pm: I nurse Junie one last time before going to bed with Dane.

PHEW!! That was nuts.... that seriously took forever!!! Haha, well it's fun to think about how my days go. Of course every day is different but that's usually the flow.
OKay, well I'm gonna go and be a mother and wife now and get off this crazy computer.
bye bye.

My Mom

I should definitely be in bed right now since I am drained, but I have some things on my brain that I want to get out. I figured that since both the kids are asleep and I finally have a free minute to myself, I should do it now before I forget.
This week I got the chance to drive up to Hollister with the kiddies and hang out with my folks. I remember flying out to Utah when I graduated from high school and thinking about how glad I was to leave. I had no idea what I was thinking. I love my parents so much. I specifically want to talk about my mom because I've been able to spend a lot of time with her this week. My mom is amazing. It's very frustrating for me sometimes to embrace this fact because I used to think my mom was the strictest, evilest, meanest meanie on the block who wanted to ruin my life and the lives of all my friends and acquaintances. But the truth is that my mom is so awesome. She is crafty, silly, fun, quirky, smart, talented, beautiful, outgoing, opinionated, fair, loving, humble, spiritual, and well-rounded. My mom knows how to do everything. EVERYTHING. She knows how to take professional pictures, make soap, crochet, eat nutritiously, cook, bake, sew, make a website, edit pictures, scrapbook (and digital scrapbook too!), sing alto, give haircuts, give Swedish massages, run a business (swim lessons), grow a garden, be a temple worker, do genealogy, raise a family, be a loving wife, make flower arrangements, entertain grandchildren, do interior decorating, utilize homeopathic medicine, gee... the list could go on forever. My mom is one amazing lady and I am so so so grateful that she is MY mom. And now that I have my own little daughter, I just imagine my mom sitting and holding me the same way that I hold little Junie. I love my babies so much, and I never really understood the love that my mom had for me until I experienced that love for my babies.
So Mom, now I understand. And I want you to know that I love you soooooooooooooooo much. You've taken such good care of me and raised me to be a happy, healthy, successful girl. You mean the world to me and I will always love you.

Goodbye long hair!

Before:

And after:




I am sooooo excited about the new look! I hope you like it too. :)